And some revisionist history....

At the expense of being too assertive a guest blogger, I would like to remind Mr. Collins, who at the time was fondly referred to simply as the "Golden Boy", that way back in the Fall of 1996 when we first met, we did so not in the laundry room, but in his suite in D-High, while he was looking through his CD's and trying to figure out how to keep people from using his living room as a thoroughfare. After reviewing his CD's he asked if anyone else was interested in competing head-to-head in what was then the most advanced sports game on the market.....Hardball! for Windows 96.

Rather than ease into the relationship by playing a few exhibitions, we went right to the best of seven World Series. We immediately disagreed over how teams would be chosen, but had reached consensus fairly quickly on the fact that neither of us could be the Red Sox or Yankees. That said, he chose the Expos, and I chose the Padres.

After six hard-fought contests and having to share a keyboard in what seemed like a 50 square foot room in the midst of an indian summer, it came down to the final at-bats. In the top of the ninth, tied 2-2 with two outs, Tony Gwynn launched a two-run double into right field, giving the Padres the 4-2 lead, ensuring his legacy as one of the games great hitters. Then, with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Wil Cordero (who Nate decided to leave in the game despite being one of the worst human beings on earth) hit a line drive to right field. What should have been a routine play for an otherwise sure-handed Tony Gwynn, leading to an epic Padres victory, was instead booted into the right field corner. The bases were cleared and the Expos went on to win their only World Series (granted a fake one). As it was happening, I screamed "No Tony Gwynn, not....this....waaaaaaaay!", to which Nate responded "Yes, this WAY, this WAY!" Our friendship was essentially built on the collective laugh that we had at the expense of digital Tony Gwynn. We were never the same, and neither was Gwynn. Though a first ballot Hall of Famer, Gwynn stated in his acceptance speech "I have accomplished many great things in my baseball life. Although I have otherwise been extraordinarily blessed, one thing that I will never forget is the friendship that was forged at the expense of my low-resolution failure to catch that Cordero line drive."

Baseball

I never argue with someone who tells me they don't like baseball. I understand that each different sport appeals to people in different ways. Each game's unique design means that certain people will enjoy it, and others won't.

Basketball is perfect for fans who require constant motion and activity to keep focused. It showcases the importance of teamwork, but also allows for individual excellence to take over a game. It's fun to watch, and fun to play. Football is perfect for war buffs, who identify with how the game cycles between incredibly intricate strategy and sudden violence. Each position is highly specialized, and it is the ultimate team game. It's the closest you can get to serving in the military without actually enlisting. Hockey is great for those who want to bust heads, and boxing is great for those who want to get their heads busted. And so on...

So I find it a waste of energy to try and convince someone that they "should" like one sport over another. I'll leave that up to Darth Vader. But for me...I choose baseball.

Baseball is not a frenetic game. It is not designed to deliver 2-straight hours of heart-pounding action. It is not a game made for the "ADD-I-want-it-now-and-then-I-immediately-want-something-else" mindset. And I, for one, am thankful.

TV networks, sportswriters, non-baseball fans and even some MLB umpires (!) are lamenting how tediously slow and numbingly long baseball games can be "these days." But I couldn't disagree more.

There is no game clock in baseball. In theory, a baseball game could last until the end of time (or until the players and umpires die of old age on the field, I suppose...). The game is over when the away team leads after 9 complete innings (or a complete number of extra innings), or when the home team takes a lead in the bottom half of the 9th inning (or the bottom half of any extra inning). No quarters, halftime, play clock or 2-minute warning. No ties. That may be awful for some, but I love it.

Baseball is the only game that the players can speed up, slow down and even stop. Each pitcher and batter plays at their own pace, and that pace changes based on the game situation. A pitcher can grab the rosin bag, step off the mound, hold the ball at the belt, whatever he wants to slow down the game. Or he can get the ball back from the catcher and immediately start his wind-up once the batter is in the box, slide-step or quick-pitch. A batter can step out of the box, take practice swings in between pitches, go and rub pine tar on his bat. Basically, whenever you need to, you can step back and breathe. If only we would all do that in real life once in a while...

The moments I remember most from when I played the game were not the pitches thrown or the swings taken--what is considered the "action." What I remember is rubbing the ball between my bare hands, my glove under my arm, thinking about what to throw and where. I remember standing outside the box looking at the defense, and based on that alignment, trying to figure out what he'll throw me and on which side of the plate. I remember being in the field thinking about where I had to go with a batted ball in every conceivable situation.

If you think about it, the pitches and hits take up less than a quarter of the game. The rest is what goes on in your head for the other 2 1/2 hours you are on the field. For some, this can make the game unwatchable. But not for me. Because when I watch, I still think the same thoughts I did when I played. I am never waiting for something to happen in the game, because for me, something always is.

Baseball is played outdoors, on dirt and grass (or at least should be...always. I'm looking at you Tampa Bay and Toronto...), so the elements always play a role. But amazingly, baseball fields are NOT standardized. Of course, the basepaths, the height of the mound and the distance from the mound to the plate are the same anywhere...but everything else about the field is unique to each individual park.

You can have an outfield wall that is 200 feet away or one that is 500 feet away, some 3-feet high and some 30-feet high. The fences can be laid out in a perfect arc from foul pole to foul pole, or they can be constructed of jagged shapes jutting toward and away from the plate. So a batted ball that's an out in one park may be a single in another, or a homerun in yet another. You can grow the infield grass right up to the infield foul line (if your team is fast and good bunters), or you can have a wide dirt basepath to help bunts roll foul (if your corner infielders have limited range). You can cut the infield grass short if your team hits lots of ground balls, or keep it long if your pitchers get many ground ball outs (long grass will slow a groundball down, thereby giving your fielders a better chance of getting to it before it gets by them). You can make the dirt in front of the plate rock hard (soak it in gasoline, scorch it, tamp it down) if the visiting team is pitching a sinkerballer (ground balls hit will be faster and have a better chance of getting through the infielders), or you can soften it up (with water and clay) when the home team is sending a sinkerballer to the mound (soft dirt deadens the ball and gives the fielders more time to get to the ball on the ground). And on and on...it's all up to the home team to design/manicure their own park to suit their players and style of play.

Baseball teaches you about life, all game long. It teaches you that winning breeds winning (Yankees), and misery loves company (Cubs and pre-2004 Red Sox). You can buy players (2004 Yankees), but you can't buy a team (1996 Yankees). If you are able to intimidate someone with just your history, you have already beaten them (reputation). If you know the game is over once you have a late lead, it is (confidence), and if you step into the box thinking you are going to strike out, you will (fear). If you panic when the ball is coming at you, you will never field it cleanly (composure). And you have to think before the ball is hit to you, otherwise it's too late (planning). But make an error in the field, you can always make up for it at the plate. Baseball shows you that you can take an imperfect swing and still get a hit (luck), or you can hit it right on the screws and make an out (bad luck). But over 162 games, you will get the average you deserve (consistency). And whether you have a good game, or a bad game...you have another one tomorrow (durability).

Sometimes, with your team about to win a World Series, a series of cataclysmic events causes you to shockingly lose (life can be cruel, self-fulfilling prophecy, the music of Jim Croce). Then other times, when your team is down 0-3 in a series, a ball hit hard by the other team that should easily score a run bounces in the stands and keeps the runner at third, keeping you in a game (and a series) you had no business winning (fate, faith, the comedy stylings of Brian Regan). And despite the painful roller coaster, you come back to the park/TV the next day and do it all over again (loyalty).

Unlikely people can be heroes (Dent, Boone), and superstars can fail (2003 Pedro, 2004 A-Rod). And even if you do your job perfectly...things may still be out of your control (Galarraga).

Life can be a team sport at times, but it is always made up of a series of individual battles.

You can translate almost everything into baseball terms. And I think you should.

Because the one constant throughout the years has been baseball. Baseball has marked the time, it reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again.

Well said, Skywalker.

2010 NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers Game 3

Late post...4 minutes to go in the 3rd...I'm in the bedroom, watching the game on the computer (at least, watching the scores refresh on a website). Wife is in the living room watching on TV. She is very quiet, which means her team is doing well...me, not so much...

Celtics are getting it handed to them at home. Another dump in the Garden, home crowd is silent (not much to get loud about so far). Ray Allen has 2 (yes, 2!!!!!!) points mid-way through the 3rd quarter. 2 points, and both from the foul line...he is 0-11 from the field. Pierce has 8 points. Rondo, 9 points. Boston is shooting 35% (!!!!) from the field, 68% from the foul line. Boston is being out-rebounded 35- 28.

Those numbers = LOSE. I hope they can turn it around in the 4th quarter...but they'll need a much better effort. We'll see.

A Little More History....

For those of you that don't know, I'm the guy who didn't know how to do his laundry. I guess I had an overprotective mother and a hyper-focused father. What I could do though was get batters out with limited natural ability and a combination of guile and strategic pitch command. The former was meaningless for my father, while the latter was a life goal. By time I got to college I realized that I was good at school work and baseball, but not good enough at the latter to make a career of it. I was essentially left without any other interests or past times, and when you find that you are no longer good enough to play baseball, well, you watch it. And watch it I did. In fact, in 1996, I watched 158 regular season Yankee games. I watched Spring Training, I watched pre-game, post-game, and that creepy show for kids on YES Sunday mornings. I watched the Yankees, because I had never known anything else. I come from Yankee country where everyone (except the depraved - who are Mets fans), watch the Yankees. Rather than wait and explore the field, I married my high school sweetheart so to speak, thinking that there was nothing better out there. From then until the Fall of 2007, Nate and I essentially stopped being friends for two months out of the year, what we would later call "initiating radio silence". It simply became a ritual for us. Watch games at different forums. Emails or text messages only (though once in awhile one of us would violate the accord by leaving a less than pleasant voicemail - I may have done that on the Boone homerun). On the night that the Red Sox won the World Series in 2007, the same night that Alex Rodriguez stated that he no longer cared to be a Yankee, I vowed to leave the Yankees forever if they took him back. Well since they're whores they did, and since I have never made an unreasonable promise that I didn't keep (ask Nate about Titanic when you get a chance), I skipped the trial separation and went straight to the "dead to me" divorce. I decided that I would pick a team that was young and exciting but had no conceivable chance of winning, by then known as the Tampa Bay Rays. Six months later, Nate and I had once again initiated radio silence. It lasted quite some time. Up until the final night of the 2008 Series, when I got a text from Nate that read "Sucks when your team walks out onto the field of play and pinches out a ham-fisted dump, huh?". Six years of education and an Ivy League degree and the best he could do was "ham-fisted dump". Yet it proves an important point: As educated and mature as Nate and I have become over the years, and as much as we love one another, in the end, we are still just two intoxicated d-bags in the bleachers with no shirts, twelve Utica Clubs deep, and VERY angry that we can't beat the Orioles. That fact is all you need to know about us on a going forward basis.

2010 NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers Game 2

Game 2 tonight. Big one for Boston, since they can either even up the series and get the split on the road...or they can pretty much lose the series by going down 0-2. The Cs need to come with a MUCH different attitude tonight to have a chance for a win. If they don't give a drastically improved effort, they will get blown out again. Here's hoping they get off to a good start and have the poise and toughness to hold on.

My wife is still out with some friends...so I may be grandfathered into getting the house to watch the game tonight. We shall see.

Either way...Go Celtics!

Root, Root, Root For The Home Team

One major drawback that goes with following your teams from a rival city, is that you are constantly bombarded with newspapers, local TV, radio, and other media centered around team(s) you hate. For example, there is a special place in hell represented by the New York Post back page after the Yankees beat the Red Sox...and if that win is in the playoffs, god help the unsuspecting Red Sox fan just trying to get to work on the subway. But we can get into that later...now I want to talk about one annoyance in particular: the hometown sportscaster.

Now, it is expected that regional broadcasters will be homers to some degree. In pretty much all cases, they are hired and paid by the teams they broadcast for. They travel with the club, they stay in the same hotels, they are basically the public face of the organization. And when you are a fan watching/listening to the games in the home market, you are fine when the broadcaster roots along with you. But watch your team in a rival market...oh boy.

Here in New York, the Yankees TV games are presented by Michael Kay with a revolving supporting cast, including Al Leiter, John Flaherty, Ken Singleton and others. Singleton is harmless. Flaherty I don't mind, he brings some solid defensive strategy and perspective as a former MLB catcher to the booth. (He played briefly for the Red Sox, as well, but you'd never know it by his comments...unless someone else in the booth mentions it in the context of "wow, John, that must have been awful to be over there. I mean, how did you deal with that? Gold star for you, buddy. That organization is just terrible...".)

And I will admit, I love to listen to Al Leiter in the booth. He deserves to do as many national games as possible. (FOX...please, please, please get rid of Tim McCarver...that guy is AWFUL. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic. In one Sox-Yankees nationally broadcast game 2 years ago, McCarver called Ted Williams "Teddy Baseball" and Don Mattingly "Donny Ballgame." I threw up in my mouth, and was immediately inundated with text messages from Sox and Yankees friends alike. I will give him this...McCarver has that special ability to piss of everyone equally.) But Leiter is great. I have been playing/following baseball for more than 25 years, yet Leiter manages to teach me something new about the game in almost every broadcast. He is the guy I want in the national booth during the playoffs, no doubt. He is the least Yankee-leaning of anyone in the YES booth, he is all about the game, the situation, the personnel, the nuances of pitching, etc. Sure, he praises the Yankees, but if Jeter Ks looking on a disputed call--but it was in fact a strike--Leiter will say so. He doesn't make excuses for the team that pays his bills, and he isn't afraid to criticize their play. Just a stand up guy, and a great baseball mind. Big fan.

But, then...there is Michael Kay. I really can't stand this guy. And guess what? I'm not alone. And it's not because I am a Red Sox fan, either. Picture the most obnoxious Yankees fan you can think of, and then imagine having to listen to him call a game against your team for 4+ hours. Pure, unadulterated hell.

Here is typical Michael Kay call: "Rodriguez DEEEEEEP to left!!! It is HIIIGH, it is FAAAR...and it's caught by the shortstop in shallow left center. Two outs."

His "SSSSEE YAAAHHHH!!!!" every time a Yankee hits a home run is the bane of every baseball fan's existence. As a Yankees fan friend of mine recently pointed out: "way to make a great moment ridiculous." The guy is an absolute toolbox. To mitigate his awfulness, I can mute the TV and listen to the Red Sox radio announcers do the game on my computer. It takes some skilled pausing/starting on the DVR to get it synced up just so...but it's definitely worth it (the key is to match the sound of the ball snapping into the catcher's mitt after a pitch with its visual equivalent). Anyway, I can get rid of Kay, but then can't listen to Leiter. Sad, but necessary.

Then there is the Yankee radio broadcasters, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. We'll start with Suzyn.

What a trainwreck. She is SUCH a homer, it is truly hilarious. No one can forget her performance during Joe Torre's final press conference as the Yankees manager. It was epic. Lest we forget, Suzyn is hired as a "professional" broadcaster, but that didn't stop her from balling on the air when contemplating life without Joe. Her emotional breakdown was so inappropriate that even her partner, John Sterling, had to cut in with (paraphrasing here) "Suzyn, all things come to an end...he's won 4 titles, he's going to the Hall of Fame, he made a lot of money. Torre will be fine. I'm sure it's sad (in the clubhouse), but honestly. He'll be fine, and for god's sake just pull yourself together."

But it gets better. Remember when Roger Clemens decided to return to pitch for the Yankees midway through the 2007 season? Suzyn Waldman does!!!

"ROGAH CLEMENS IS IN GEOWGES BOWX!!!!! MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS, OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THINGS!!!!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHO'S GONNA TAKE THAT SPOT IN THE ROTATION!!!! ROGAH'S BAAAAACK!!!!" Listen here, with an expanded version here. You won't be disappointed.

To hear her tell it, Clemens was going to pitch for the Yankees for free (because Yankee Greatness was payment enough, of course) and it was 1986. But actually, he was being paid $5 million PER MONTH, he was 45-yrs-old, went 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 3+ months of work, and the Yankees lost the ALDS to the Indians. Suzyn is terrible...but we aren't done with Yankees radio quite yet. Oh no...

John Sterling. This guy is special. It's his call at the end of Yankees wins where Sterling really shines: "Inning over!! Ballgame over!!! The Yankees WIN!!!!!! THEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeE Yankees WIN!!!!!!!" Last game of the World Series, first game of spring training...it's always the same campy virbrato. And always height of douchyness.

Don't believe me? Watch/listen to this call from a game in 2008, and please note that the game is being played in mid-June. I belly laugh every time I see that clip.

(Aside: I am listening to the Sox game on the internet radio as I type this, and the Red Sox radio announcers are currently making fun of John Sterling, cracking each other up as each of them try their hand at an impression. Classic.)

But even more than that, he somehow manages to fail tremendously at his basic duty: calling the game. Incredibly, he doesn't seem to understand that his audience is NOT watching the action, they are listening to it. It is the RADIO, after all. But Sterling is unfazed. Game action continues, but his listeners are treated to whatever aimless story Sterling feels like finishing. You actually have to listen to the level of crowd noise to try and make out which team is doing what.

Here's a typical half-inning as called by John Sterling:

(NOTE: All stories are at least 4x as long and 5x as pointless as presented here.)

"It's a beautiful afternoon here in Minnesota as Posada steps in to lead off the top of the 4th. Just look at those clouds hovering over the ballpark! See that one? It looks just like a pirate ship! Well, of course, it's not the correct amount of sails for a fully-rigged barquentine of the period, but for a cloud, it's pretty close! You know Suzyn, that gets me to thinking about how I was there--and I mean THERE...6th row!!...one of the lucky ones--for that unforgettable 1956 Broadway revival of The Pirates of Penzance. What music! What lyrics! What costumes! It's amazing to me what passes as theater these days, it really does. Cano to second on the passed ball, another Yankee runner in scoring position with nobody out. But that just seems to be a familiar refrain these days, doesn't it Suzyn? (Suzyn: "Oh yes, John. Oh YES!!") You just don't get the same detail and care, really, if you want to assign a term to it--I would say 'care'--when it comes to Broadway costumes of today. This is something I feel very strongly about, as Granderson dances off third. And this costuming decline is happening everywhere, Suzyn, even--believe it or not!!--with the gloriously storied, richly wondrous and immensely Great (with a capital "G," no actually, to be perfectly frank, every letter in the word "GREAT" must be capitalized!!) New York Yankees. It was a sad day, for sure, when the Yankees decided to unceremoniously toss aside those beautiful lamb's wool uniforms made famous by Cozy Dolan and Hippo Vaughn. That's when a Yankee was a Yankee--and when a Yankee had guard against getting his jersey wet, lest it shrink 5 sizes in 3 minutes and become impossible to remove. Man, they were sharp, and Jeter retreats to second base after Gardner flies out to shallow right. Just incredible--nobody walks slowly back to second base after an out like El Capitan! Absolutely NOBODY!!! DEREK JETER NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE!!!!!!!!! (Suzyn: "Oh YES, John!!!!!) And Suzyn, of course, you'll be too young to remember this, but the buttons on those jerseys were made of desert-tanned bisonhide. Very durable, and you could chew on them if you needed a pick-me-up in the later innings. There's a walk that will load the bases. The nation was suffering through a severe food shortage at that time, as we all know, and I for one ate my fair share of belts and saddle-shoe tongues. Not bad, actually, especially when fried in mutton lard with a sprinkle of celery salt. So it sometimes can take tragedy to define you as a human being, as the first baseman grabs the line drive and that will do it. So it's 5 runs for the Yankees on 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 runners left on base and one of the more bizarre plays in Yankees history. We'll be talking about that one for a very long time to come, I can assure you of that. We'll be right back after this. You are listening to Yankees baseball on the New York Yankees Radio Network!"

Am I exaggerating?? Just listen for a game and you'll see...

So, how do you feel about your local TV and radio broadcasters, whether they be working for your team or another? Let us know...

What's In A Number?

The shock of seeing Josh Reddick wearing Mike Greenwell's #39 in tonight's Sox game reminded me of this fantastic site that lists the Red Sox all-time uniform numbers. It's arranged by number, so you can see every player in Red Sox history that has ever worn #1, #2, #3, etc. I have no idea if this exists for any other teams in any other sports...but if it does, please post.